Shipping support with hold down means



w, N l i Nov. 29, 1960 w. F. CAREY ETAL SHIPPING SUPPORT WITH HOLD DOWN MEANS Filed July 22, 1955 4 Sheets-Shet 1 El f 4 a /4 mmmmmmmmzwE- @5151? T; L5 b? /6 mama A? A? A Mam/vat? a. N46) BY Nov. 29, 1960 w. F. CAREY ETAL SHIPPING SUPPORT WITH HOLD DOWN MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 22, 1955 TM rm Nov. 29, 1960 w. F. CAREY ETAL 2,962,250

SHIPPING SUPPORT WITH HOLD DOWN MEANS Filed July 22, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS mu new F. CARI) Nov. 29, 1960 w, E ETAL' 2,962,250

SHIPPING SUPPORT WITHHOLD DOWN MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 22', 1955 IN V EN TORJ H. W mm r f m r mw W m r 2,962,250 SHTPPENG UPFORT WITH HOLD DOWN MEANS Walter F. Carey, Birmingham, and Alexander J. Nagy, Farmington, Mich, assignors to Trailerack Transit, inc, Flint, Mich, a corporation of Delaware, and Equipment Manufacturing, Inc, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed .iuly 22, E55, Ser. No. 523,710

14 Claims. (Cl. 248-119) This invention relates to an improved method of shipping and storing articles and to improved shipping and storing rack construction for use in conjunction therewith.

The principal object of the invention is to eliminate the operation of crating articles of merchandise for shipment. The invention has particular application in the shipping and storing of mass produced articles in the appliance field, such as refrigerators, stoves, washing machines and the like, and its utility will be exemplified in connection with the shipping and storing problems which exist in this field.

The conventional present practice of manufacturers of articles of this type is to employ a crating operation at the end of final assembly. Each article is individually encased within a crate, the construction of which naturally varies a great deal from one article to another. To facilitate this crating operation, each article is assembled on a frame work, generally of wood, which forms the base of the crate when the article is finished. employed are expendible, but still their cost in labor. and material is relatively high and entirely nonrecoverable. Crated articles are individually handled by methods which generally have been employed for years, except as, expedited fairly recently by the use of labor s'avinghandling equipment such as fork lift trucks. 7

The present invention eliminates the use of crates and provides a method which considerably reduces shipping and storing costs and simplifies the handling problem, particularly between manufacturing plant and distribution points. In this method the conventional crate base is retained. The article is assembled on this base which is then employed as a shipping pallet. Special racks are provided, of light, open framework construction. These racks and their construction also constitute one of theimprovements of the invention as will be pointed out more fully hereinafter. Generally, each rack is dimensioned to support a plurality of articles and is provided with means which permit the shipping pallet of each article to be securely clamped to the base portion of the rack structure. The dimensions of a group of racks are co-ordinated with the dimensions of the vehicle in which shipment is to be made, so that when such a group of racks are loaded into the vehicle in closely spaced relationship, the vehicle is completely filled and the entire load becomes self-locating. Preferably the racks are constructed so that one loaded rack can be superimposed on another, or stacked.

The loaded conveyance is then transported to a distributing point or Warehouse. Here, two alternatives are open in employing the method of the invention. One is to unload the vehicle and store the articles in the ware house in the racks in which they are shipped until the time of delivery to a retailer. With the invention employed in this manner, a number of empty racks will gradually be accumulated at a distributing warehouse as articles are delivered, and these empty racks will be returned to the manufacturing point in the conveyance in which a load was delivered.

The other alternative is to unload the articles from the racks at the time'of deliveryto the distributing point,

The crates,

States Patent and return the racks empty to the manufacturing point. The only difference between the two alternatives is principally the number of racks required to place the invention in practice.

The racks, while more expensive than present crates, have a long period of life, eliminate the crate entirely except for the base thereof which is employed as a shipping pallet, and enable articles to be handled in groups rather than singly. The reduction in cost from the use of the invention becomes very material in recurring shipping operations such as are carried on between manufacturing and distribution points.

In order to further facilitate the employement of the method of the invention we have provided improved rack constructions designed to facilitate the loading of a number of articles into each rack in a minimum of time and with the required degree of security. Each rack is designed to accommodate a plurality of articles and further designed so as to accommodate such articles in varying sizes with respect to length, width and height thereof, so that the racks will not become obsolete due to a change in model and so that the same racks can be employed to carry mixed g oups of articles as shipping orders require. For example, one manufacturing plant may be producing several sizes of refrigerators and the rack is designed to accommodate a number of such refrigerators regardless of the particular sizes selected. The same plant may also be producing washing machines or stoves, or other appliances ,or articles on different assembly lines, yet one vehicle carrying a shipment from the plant to a distribution point may carry a load made up of varying types of articles all supported in racks having the same general outside dimensions and the same constructional features. Thus no problem'is involved in the use of the invention of sorting racks and seeing that the proper sized rack is delivered to the proper loading point for handling the articles at that particular point.

One example of the manner in which the invention can be placed in practice is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and Will be described more fully herein. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of the end of a final assembly line which, in accordance with standard practice, is in the form of an endless conveyor, with the square outlines representing articles supported thereby;

Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevation of a truck-trailer loaded with a "group of racks, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

' Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a shipping rack as seen from the front and one end thereof; r Fig. 4 is a similar view of the rack shown in Fig. 3, as seen from the rear; Y I

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the lPrase structure of the rack, as indicated by the arrow 5 in Fig. 6 is "an enlarged sectional plan view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3; A 1 v Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged horizontal sectional detail on sectional detail on the sectional detail on the line 9-9 line 10-10 of Fig. 4.

Referring first to .Fig. 1, there is schematically illustrated the end-portion of a final assembly line 11 along which a plurality of articles 12, such as refrigerators, are advanced in the direction of the arrow 13 toward the end 14. In present practice, each articlevll reaching the end 14 of the assembly line is individually crated-for shipment. The present invention "eliminates this :crating Patented Nov. 29, 1960 operation. An auxiliary handling device 15 may instead be employed at the end of the assembly line 11 on which articles can be arranged in a group 16 and transferred laterally as indicated by the arrows 17 into a storage and shipping rack 18.

The general construction of such a rack 18 is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This rack is a three-sided open framework structure, having an open front shownin .Fig. 3,

with the sides of the framework forming the two ends and rear of the structure as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The framework, in the construction illustrated, is formed of square tubular members, and comprises four vertical corner posts 20 which are connected across the ends of the structure by upper and lower transverse end members 21 and 22, respectively, these end members being joined to the vertical posts inwardly from the ends thereof. The base portion of the framework is formed by a series of transversely spaced longerons 23 connected between the corner posts and the lower end members 22 at the level of the latter. This leaves a clearance area beneath the base portion of the framework for inserting the tines of a fork lift truck so that each rack and its load can be handled as a unit.

Upper and intermediate longerons 24 and 25 are provided at the rear side of the frame structure as shown in Fig. 4, with diagonal members 26 extending between the corner posts and the intermediate longeron 25. Diagonal members 27 are also employed between the corner posts at each end of the structure, and an intermediate upright member 28 is secured between each diagonal 27 and the lower transverse member 22 of each end. An apertured bar 30 is supported between the upright member 28 and the rear corner post 20 at each end of the structure, this bar being positioned at a height slightly above that of the base portion of the structure.

The base portion of the structure is completed by a series of transversely extending article supporting members 32, which are secured to each of the longerons 23, and each of which is formed as a rectangular tubular member having a slot 33 extending longitudinally thereof.

Supporting members 32 act as skids along which an article can he slid into position in the rack and removed therefrom, and the slots 33 in these members form an attaching point for suitable hold-down means which en able articles positioned in the racks to be securely clamped to the base portion thereof. The number and longitudinal spacing of the members 32 together with the slots 33 provide for selective bi-dire ctional positioning of the hold-down means for suitably engaging and clamping articles of various sizes within the fixeddimensions of a particular rack structure.

As has previously been mentioned, each article 12 is assembled and travels along the assernbly line 11 on a wooden base to which a crate Was attached. A representative construction of such a base is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Referring particularly to the lower right hand corner of the latter view, the article 12 is shown resting upon two transverse members 34 which in turnrest upon front and rear longitudinally extending members 35 and 36, respectively. Rear member 36 can be seen in the lower left hand corner of Fig. 3. The dimensions of the members 34, 35 and 36 are such that they project beyond the edges of the article they support. These members comprise what will herein be termeda shipping pallet. Each article is securely mounted on such a shipping pallet, which is then employed in the present invention as a means for securing such article to the structure of a rack by the hold-down means previously mentioned.

A preferred construction for such hold-down means comprises a single positioning and clamping member 38 (Fig. 4) which extends along the rear side of the rack. This member 38 is of angle section and has a short strap or crank 39 secured to each of its ends. Each strap 39 is provided with a hole through which a bolt 40 may be inserted for pivotally'eonnecting each strap to one of the apertured bars 30. Such mounting of the positioning and clamping member 38 permits its position to be adjusted transversely of the rack and provides for vertical pivotal movement of the member between clamped and released positions.

A series of collars 41 are welded to the vertical face of the positioning member 38 and each collar 41 receives a headed clamping bolt 42. Each bolt 42 extends through the slot 33 in one of the supporting or skid members 32.

Along the front side of the rack, the hold-down means consists of a series of angle section members 44, each of a length suitable for engaging the shipping pallet of one article. Collars 45 are welded to each of the members 44, and receive hold-down bolts 46, this collar and bolt construction being similar to that employed on the rear positioning and clamping member 38.

Details of the mounting of the front clamping members 44 are shown in Fig. 5, and for the rear clamping and positioning member 38 in Fig. 6. Fig. 5 shows the manner in which the head 47 of the front clamping bolt 46 engages the slot 33 in one of the skid members 32. When the wing nut 48 is tightened, the upper horizontal flange 49 of the clamping member 44 is drawn into engagement with the transverse members 34 of the shipping pallet. This same description applies to the engagement of an article by the rear positioning and clamping member 38 through the clamping bolts 42.

For both front and rear clamping members 44 and 38 additional article securing means are provided in the form of the clamping screws 50 shown in Fig. 5. Each of these screws is mounted in a threaded boss 51 provided on the clamping members 44 and 38. When one of the screws 50 is tightened by means of the wing nut 52, the screw is brought into engagement with the one of the longitudinal pallet members such as the front pallet member 35, shown in Fig. 5. A similar engagement is obtained with the rear transverse pallet member 36 by simi lar screws 50 provided on the rear clamping and positioning bar 38. The pallet members 34, 35 and 36 are customarily made of wood, as shown. The ends of the screws 50 will bite into these wood members to securely position them relative to the clamping members 38 and 44 and to the base portion of the rack structure.

It will be noted that this preferred construction of the hold-down means for securing the shipping pallet of each article provides an engagement with each of the members which form that shipping pallet, namely, both the transverse members 34 and the longitudinal members 35 and 36 thereof. Since the entire pallet structure is thereby firmly clamped to the base portion of the rack through each of the structural members of the pallet, the pallet cannot become distorted during shipment or become disassembled. As long as each article is firmly secured to its shipping pallet its position relative to the rack structure will positively be maintined by the hold-down means provided.

For taller articles, the hold-down means additionally includes upper positioning means which provide a point of attachment between the upper portion of the article and the rack structure. This prevents the articles from toppling or from pulling loose from their shipping pallet. Appliances, which are the particular articles designed to be handled by the rack structure illustrated, are conventionally manufactured with threaded sockets in the upper portions of their rear side. These "sockets are utilized to form a point of attachment between the article and the upper positiong means provided as part of the rack structure. This construction is illutrated in Fig. 4, with additional details of the upper positioning means of the rack structure being shown in Figs. 9 and l0.

Referring to these views, the upper positioning structure includes a pair of positioning members 54 and 55, each being constructed with a longitudinally extending slot 56. Each of the'positioning members 54 and 55 are mounted between a pair of vertically extending cylindrical supporting members 58, these members 58 being slidably engaged by collars 59 secured to the positioning members 54 and 55. Each collar isprovided with a set screw 60 for fixing the position of the members 54 and 55 vertically along the supports 58. Details of this construction are shown in Fig. 10. 7

Each support 58 is mounted on a pair of arms 62 and 63, the upper arm 62 being attached by-a pivotal adjustable connection to the upper rear longeron 24, and the lower arm 63 being sirnilarly attached to the inter mediate rear longeron 25. Details of one of these connections is shown in Fig. 9. A serrated collar 64 is secured to one end of the arm 62. An attaching bolt 65, provided with a wing nut 66, is secured to the longeron, such as the longeron 24 shown in Fig. 9. A second serrated collar 67 is mounted on this bolt and is provided with flanges 68 which engage the sides of the longeron when the parts are tightened together. With the wing nuts 66 thus securing a pair of arms 62 and 63 loosened, the arms can be sprung to disengage the serrations on the collars 64 and 67 and rotated about the attaching bolts 65 to locate the positioning members 54 and 55 at a desired distance from the rear side of the rack structure. When so properly located, and with the positioning members 54 and 55 correctly adjusted in elevation alongthe supports 58, positioning bolts 69 can be inserted through the slot 56 in the members 54 and 55 and into engagement with the threaded connection points provided on the rear side of the appliance. Preferably a rubber spacer 71 is employed between the rear face 70 (Fig. 9) of the appliance and the positioning member such as the member 54 shown in this view. 7

Preferably the rack will be constructed in such a way that one rack may be superimposed upon another. A preferred construction of this type is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Referring to Fig. 7, which is a sectional elevation taken through one of the vertical corner posts of a rack, a nesting cap 74, having at least two outwardly flaring, vertically extending guide surfaces 75, and a loeating pin 76 having a tapered end 77 is mounted upon a square tubular post extension 78. Extension member 78 telescopically engages a rack corner post20, and is provided with a series of aligned apertures 80. A lockingpin 82, carried by a bracket 83 mounted on the upper end member 21 of the rack structure, can be moved to a locked position such as shown in Fig. 8 where the end 83 of the pin extends through apertures 84 in the vertical corner post 20 and through the apertures 80 in the post extension 78. Pin 82 is provided with a hook-like end 86 which serves as a handle and also as a means for retaining the pin in engaged position. For this purpose a slotted hole 88 is formed in the side of the upper end member 21. After the pin has been moved to locked position as shown in Fig. 8, it can be rotated about its own axis to position the free end 89 of the hook-like portion 86 into engagement with the hole 88, as shown in Fig. 8 and also in Figs. 3 and 4. i

The adjustable, telescoping type of nesting cap is a distinct advantage since it permits the height of the rack to be adjusted to accommodate taller articles, and also permits the distance between racks placed in tiers to be adjusted to facilitate the removal of an upper tier by handling devices such as fork lift trucks. The locking pin construction described provides an effective means for obtaining this vertical adjustability or flexibility in the rack construction, because a positive placement of the nesting cap extension is obtained with no danger of any particular adjustment of the nesting cap extension being disturbed during shipping and handling operations.

In the employment of the invention articles fabricated on an assembly line are preferably transferred directly from the end of the assembly line into a storage and shipping rack 18, as indicated schematically in Fig. 1. However, in some instances it may be preferable to de liver finished articles from the assembly line to a shipping 6 area where the particular articles required 't'o'fill a. given shipment are'select'ed and loaded into shipping and'storing racks. The flexability of the rack construction provided makes either type of operation, or a combination of both types of operations, practical. This is indicated by the manner in which the rack construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is loaded. The articles 121 and 122 shown in phantom at each end of the rack may be considered as refrigerators of different sizes. The third shorter article 123 loaded in the middle of the rack could be con sidered some totally different type of appliance, such as a stove, freezer, or dishwasher. Each article is securely retained in the rack construction for shipment, storage and intermediate handling.

In order to place these articles in the rack the'front clamping bars 44 are removed by loosening the wing nuts 48 and sliding the heads of the bolts '46 along the slots 33 in the skid members 32. The bolts 42 of the rear clamping and positioning bar 38 are loosened, and this bar is raised to a load receiving position by moving it upwardly, the bar pivoting about its attaching bolts 40 on its supporting arms 39. In load receiving position, the horizontal flange of themember 38'is above the level of a shipping pallet. I The articles to be loaded are then slid individually, or in groups depending upon the handling equipment employed, into the rack, their shipping pallets sliding across the skid members 32 of the base portion thereof until the rear ends of the transverse members 34 of these pallets underlie the horizontal flange and contact the vertical flange of the positioning and clamping bar 38. This locates each article in the rack relative to the rear's'ide" thereof, the positioning and clamping bar 38 being adjusted so that the location of the article it thus establishes is one where they are fairly well centered transversely of'the rack structure.

Front clamping bars 44 are then individually engaged with the front of the transverse pallet members 34 and both front and rear clamping bars are secured in position by tightening the wing nuts 48 on the bolts 46 and 42. The additional hold-down screws 50'are also tightened into engagement with the pallet members 35 and 36. 7 With taller appliances, such as refrigerators, the upper positioning bolts 69 are inserted through the slots 56 in positioning members 54 and 55 and into engagement with the threaded sockets of such appliances.

A group of loaded racks are placed in a conveyance, and as schematically illustrated in Fig. 2, the dimensioning of the racks and conveyance is correlated so that such a group of racks fills the conveyance and thereby becomes a load unit which is self locating. This further simplifies the shipping and handling operation. Fig. 2 also illustrates the fact that such'a load unit may be made up of racks of different dimensions. Thus the racks 181 occupying the front and rear portions of the vehicle are of a different height than the racks 18 filling the central portion thereof. The smaller racks 181 will be loaded with smaller articles such as the article 123 of Figs. 3 and 4. The racks are arranged in a load unit in tiers, utilizing the nesting cap feature shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

When the vehicle reaches its designation and has been unloaded, the preferred shipping method of the invention contemplates the step of reloading the Vehicle with "a group of empty 'rackseither obtained by unloading the articles from the racks inthe shipment delivered, or by accumulating empty racks as articles are withdrawn from storage and unloaded from the racks at that time.

A group of racks can therefore be considered as part of the load handling equipment of the vehicle which thereby becomes a specialized conveyance capable of handling uncrated articles.

In a case where it is not desired to unload thearticles from the racks when the vehicle reaches its destination, sufficient additional racks are provided to place the invention in operation so that empty racks will always be on hand to be'loaded back into the vehicle for return to the shipping point. The loaded racks are utilized to store the articles, and can also be used, if desired, to deliver the articles to another destination. For example, appliances are usually shipped by the manufacturer to a distribution point where stocks are maintained in storage for delivery to retailers. In such an operation the shipping method of the present invention can be used to provide for the storage of the articles in the racks at the distribution point. It can be extended to provide for the delivery of articles from the distribution point to a retailer, and in the case of large volume retailers even to the storage at warehouses maintained by them.

The savings realized through the. elimination of crates, the ability to handle articles in groups rather than singly and the simplified loading of a shipping vehicle, made possible by the employment of groups of racks, all combine to more than offset the cost of racks and the cost in handling empty racks through the channels of distribution. Very little expense is involved in handling empty racks because this operation can in most cases be performed concurrently with the delivery of loaded racks.

Obviously modifications from the specific construction disclosed and described herein will be required to adapt the invention to specific article handling situations. Such modifications as are included within the scope of the following claims are therefore to be considered to be part of the present invention.

We claim:

1. A rack for storing and shipping articles of merchandise each of which is conventionally mounted on a shipping pallet, comprising a framework including a base portion adapted to support the pallet of each of a number of articles, hold-down means for engaging and securing said pallet to said base portion, said base portion being provided with means for engaging said hold-down means in a plurality of positions relative to the sides and ends of said base portion whereby a plurality of articles having different dimensions can be simultaneously secured to said base portion within the perimeter thereof.

.2. A shipping and storing rack according to claim 1 wherein said base portion includes a plurality of members extending in spaced relationship in at least one of the longitudinal and transverse directions on said base portion, said members being adapted to support said pallets and said holddown means being selectively engageable with any of said members at points along the length thereof.

3. A shipping and storing rack according to claim 2 further characterized by said members each having a longitudinally extending upwardly directed slot for selectively positioning said hold-down means along the length thereof.

4. A shipping and storing rack according to claim'3 further characterized by said members each being formed by a tubular section with said longitudinally extending slot being provided in the upper face thereof and extending inwardly from one end thereof, and wherein said hold-down means include a plurality of clamping bolts each slidably engageable with said slot whereby a clamping bolt can be secured selectively to any one of said tubular members and at any point along the length of said slot.

5. A shipping and storing rack as set forth in claim 1 further characterized by said hold-down means including an article positioning and clamping member extending longitudinally of said base portion adjacent one side thereof for engagement with one side of a plurality of pallets, and means for clamping said positioning member against the surfaces of pallets engaged thereby.

6. A shipping and storing rack according to claim 5 further characterized by said hold-down means additionally including a series of clamping members each having a length suitable for engaging the other side of a single pallet, and means for drawing each of said positioning 8 and clamping members against a pallet engaged thereby to securely anchor such pallet to said base portion.

7. A shipping and storing rack according to claim 1 further characterized by said framework including structure for securing an article thereto at selectable points above the level of the base portion of said framework and adjacent to one side thereof.

8. A rack construction as set forth in claim 7 wherein said structure includes a member extending longitudinally of said framework along one side thereof and above the level of the base portion thereof, and a fastening element engageable with said member at a selective position along its length and with an article supported in said rack.

9. A rack construction according to claim 8 further characterized by said structure including means for mounting said member for movement relative to the base portion of said framework and relative to one side thereof, and means for locking said member in position.

10. A rack construction according to claim 1 further characterized by said framework including four vertical corner posts, nesting caps carried by each of said corner posts, and means for adjusting the position of said nesting caps relative to the upper ends of said corner posts whereby a plurality of said racks can be adjusted for storage and shipment in superimposed relationship in the minimum of vertical space required by the article carried thereby.

11. A rack construction as set forth in claim 10 wherein said means for adjustably positioning said nesting caps comprises a nesting cap supporting member telescopingly mounted on each of said corner posts and a locking pin insertable through an aperture in said corner post and in said nesting cap supporting member, and means for fixing the position of said locking pin relative to said framework.

12. A rack construction according to claim 11 wherein said means for fixing the position of said locking pin comprises an aperture in a framework member and an extension on the free end of said pin adapted to be inserted in said aperture by rotation of said pin about its axis.

13. A four-sided rack for storing and shipping an article of merchandise which is mounted on a conventional shipping pallet, comprising a framework including a base portion adapted to support said pallet in a loaded position, and hold-down means carried by said base portion for engaging and securing said pallet against horizontal and vertical movement relative to said base portion, said hold-down means including at least one clamping member adapted to engage said pallet, said base portion being provided with means for engaging said clamping member in one of a plurality of positions relative to at least one side of said base portion, and means for drawing said clamping member towards said base portion into clamped engaging relation with said pallet to securely anchor said pallet to said base portion.

14. A storing and shipping rack according to claim 13 further characterized by means carried by at least one of the sides of said rack for securing said article of merchandise thereto at a location above the level of said base portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,601,990 Wann Oct. 5, 1926 1,750,129 Romine Mar. 11, 1930 1,900,756 Butts Mar. 7, 1933 2,086,923 Reeder July 13, 1937 2,230,635 Alderfer Feb. 4, 1941 2,435,375 Werner Feb. 3, 1948 2,447,559 Bloemers Aug. 24, 1948 ,414 Gondar Feb. 21, 1950 2,619,307 Cramer Nov. 25, 1952 2,626,704 Baker Jan. 27, 1953 ,684 Elsner May 1, 1956 

